Wakefield couple who met on the dancefloor celebrate platinum wedding anniversary with letter from King

Doreen, 91 and Leo, 90, Kelly, celebrated 70 years of marriage this month (February 20), after first meeting in the early 1950s at a dance in Miner's Welfare Hall in Crigglestone, Wakefield, which they both reluctantly attended.

They received a letter from King Charles and Queen Camilla congratulating them on the milestone, 10 years after being sent one from the late Queen.

Leo told the Yorkshire Evening Post: "I had to come over and I was really miserable. I thought 'what am I doing here?'.

"The band had stopped playing, and everyone stood up, and I thought; 'there must be a lass here who is as miserable as me'. And so I looked around - and there she was."

That evening was the first time either of them had been out for a dance, after being cajoled by their families.

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After mustering up the courage to talk to Doreen, they spent the rest of the evening together in what Leo described as "love at first sight". Not long after, on February 20, 1954, aged 21 and 20, the couple married at St James' church in Chapelthorpe.

That same year, they had their first son Stuart, followed by Stephen in 1956.

Leo, originally from Batley, served two years in the military just after the wedding, during which he was stationed in Cyprus. After returning home, he spent most his life working in the mines, saying he had little to no choice but to "go down the pit".

Doreen, from Calder Grove, worked at the Paton and Baldwins mill in Wakefield until it closed.

"They had to shut the mill down to stop her working", Leo said. "She wouldn't pack in, so I told her 'the mill in closing down so you will have to pack in now'!"

They found their happy place in Malta, where they would travel two to three times a year for over 20 years. Although they have not been able to return due to their age, they still dream of their trips there.

Marking their Platinum wedding anniversary, a signed photo landed in their letter box from King Charles and Queen Camilla, which they now proudly display on their mantlepiece.

The letter is the second Doreen and Leo has received from the royal family, after the late Queen Elizabeth sent them one ten years ago to mark their diamond anniversary.

Leo said: "For someone who has never had nowt, and never got nowt, it is wonderful to have gotten letters from the King and Queen."